


A Hypothesis

by LilacsandFreedom



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Multi, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Sharing a Bed, and for the record the WoL is Big Spoon bar rare exceptions, because really they're both terrible workaholics and deserve a rest, but the point is that it was fun to write, something I wrote for kicks, timeline is a little fuzzy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 22:32:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19160308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsandFreedom/pseuds/LilacsandFreedom
Summary: In which Ser Aymeric's dear friend proposes a test to a theory.





	A Hypothesis

The warrior of light returned with little fanfare. They simply appeared one day at Foundation’s aetheryte, dusted themselves off, refreshed the glamour of their armor, and walked over to see him. Had he known they were coming, he would have prepared something more fitting for a hero, and he told them as such, but they politely refused. They didn’t want much fanfare, it turned out. They only wanted to talk.

     “I know you’re busy,” they said, “as am I-- little rest for the righteous, for the wicked never sleep, or so they say. But, nonetheless, I know you enjoy hearing of my adventures and I, my friend, enjoy telling them. The heavens know I need someone to talk to, after all.”

     And talk they did. In between his work, they would come in and speak. They spoke of vast plains, of high mountains, of men, monsters, and the blurring of such distinctions. They spoke of terrors and wonders, of joy and of sorrow and of anger. And they spoke too of mishaps and laughter, of the oddities of travel. He held fast to every word.

     He held so fast, in fact, that he hardly noticed the passing of time and the setting of the sun.

     “Oh, but it’s getting awfully late though, isn’t it…?” they said, “look at that, the moon’s already rising high into the sky. It’s no time for you to be working, and no time for me to stay. But, I want to be sure you rest before I leave, do you understand?”

     He sighed, “Nonsense. I’m no stranger to long nights, but you need to recover your strength. For all you’ve done for us, you deserve rest more than anyone, especially myself.”

     The warrior shook their head and placed their hands on his desk. “Let me ask you a question. Dear Ser Aymeric, do you believe the entirety of Ishgard will fall to pieces without your constant vigilance?”

     “My friend, do you believe Eorzea will fall without yours?”

     And they stayed like that for a time, staring in a silent contest of wills. The warrior was the first to break the silence. A small smile crossed their lips as they did so. “Well then. I can see only one true solution to this problem--”

     Aymeric felt, for a moment, that he’d been led into a trap. Or maybe it was a happy accident, but with the warrior of light, you could never tell. Many had asked if their victories were stratagem or serendipity, but they certainly weren’t telling. He had a feeling that, if he asked, he would never get a clear answer.

     “--We should go to bed together.”

     He felt self-consciousness start to creep up his neck. If he wasn’t careful, it would pass his armor and color his face. “And here I thought you meant that we should both continue burning lamp oil.”

     (He was, of course, lying. Anything to cover his astonishment and his delight.)

     The warrior laughed. “Oh, no, no, that won’t help either of us. It’s like this. We’ll test each-other’s hypothesis. You say that if you rest, Ishgard will fall. I say that if I rest, Eorzea-- and possibly lands beyond it-- will fall. So we should go together.”

     They continued, “My theory is that we’ll both be proven wrong, and be all the better for it. But, if we’re both right, then certainly we’ll sleep through the end-times and go together. I believe both situations are, in the end, a win-win. On the one hand, we are rested and renewed, on the other, we go together into the good night. Like I said, neither’s that bad, unless you consider an eternity by my side unappealing.”

     They had to know, by the look in their eyes, they had to know. They certainly had to know how surprising the offer was at least. Stratagem or serendipity-- a nonsense question. The warrior just seemed to know how to work things in the favor of all allied parties involved. They were astonishing like that. And, as exhausted as he had to admit he was, how could he refuse?  
  
     He smiled. “I would certainly not be opposed to it.”

     They remained together through the night. They walked together, talked together, and the warrior, clearly longing for a softer bed, was glad to go together with him to his home. And together they seemed to have misjudged the full extent of their shared exhaustion, as sleep overtook them the moment they touched the bedding.

     And in the end, he awoke to find that neither Ishgard nor Eorzea (nor its neighbors) as a whole had fallen during the night. He instead found the warrior’s arms wrapped protectively around him, and felt their breath against his neck. Certainly, they’d already done enough protecting, hadn’t they? No rest for the righteous, he supposed…

     But, even in half-armor as they were, and even with all the weight of the worlds upon them, it was the most peaceful sleep he’d had in ages.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I've written any fan fiction. But, a friend of mine sent me some of their own Aymeric/WoL fic and I felt inspired to write some of my own. It isn't anything serious, but when all was said and done, I had a lot of fun! Finally, they get to take a nap (even if it's only in fic)! Or maybe Shadowbringers will surprise us, who's to say?  
> Either way, I hope you got as much a kick out of reading this as I did writing it. Thank you for reading!


End file.
